Major changes to CS:GO were implemented this week. As well as the game going free-to-play (with perks for existing game owners), Valve have also added a Battle Royale mode to challenge the likes of PUBG and Fortnite.

Whilst it shares the same principles of last-man-standing with the existing games, it does differ in other ways. There are only 16 players per game (18 in team mode) and each player picks a pre-defined starting point. You can find weapons, ammo etc, but you can also find/steal money with which to buy equipment. Your goods are delivered by drone which can be seen (and shot down) by other players, which will be interesting.

And so another BobLAN draws to a close. It really says something when you look at the distances some people travel to attend - Scotland, South-west England and this time Austria! The most we had in-game at any one time was around 16, which is impressive.
Food was top-notch throughout, from Bob's legendary breakfasts through to the equally legendary pulled pork, setup-night curries and the obligatory takeaways. Beer and snacks were in plentiful supply - we never looked like running out, which was impressive.

Tech-wise, Scott set up a local Steam cache. I don't know how many downloads it served over the weekend - performance stats to follow. Also, thanks to Max for donating his spare 980Ti to the BobLAN spare kit appeal - greatly appreciated as it meant Keith could actually play on my old PC at a decent frame rate!

Game-wise, we dropped a few old favourites and tried some new ones:

Battlefield 1 - this made its proper debut, largely thanks to Dan sorting out a private server. We had some really close games, and as everyone commented, the visuals were stunning. A real hit that will no doubt reappear, although they need to be a bit more realistic on the amount of damage a horse can take!

CS:GO - the go-to game during breaks from other games. With the local server being always-on, it's an easy choice but still a great game.

GRID Autosport - lots of time on this one as usual, and it still plays very well.

DiRT 3 - this game has potential, but was let down by intermittent network issues. Still, the Cat and Mouse mode was really good fun when it worked.

Rocket League - we played a small tournament which was entertaining. That was about it though, no additional games played.

Titanfall 2 - this returned after an absence last time. Again, some close games which everyone enjoyed. Hopefully it will return again next time.

Unreal Tournament - not as much time on this as in the Spring BobLAN, but fun nonetheless.

Rockband - the usual late night racket to entertain the neighbours!

Dungeons and Dragons - a newcomer to BobLAN, and was enjoyed by all who played.

Games we didn't play this time:

Darwin Project - despite this being one of the hit games last time, it just didn't feature this time.

Day of Defeat - shame, as the objective mode maps are still great when you have decent numbers.

Jousting Genitals - just, because

PUBG - we had one very short-lived game, so hardly worth mentioning.

DOOM - I think UT has taken its spot as deathmatch game of choice.

Finally, a roundup would not be complete without a huge thanks to Bob and Lynda - once again you put hours and hours into preparation and cleanup for which we are all incredibly grateful! (reminder to all those who attended - make sure you have paid up!)

Activision are giving a copy of Destiny 2 to anyone who claims it before the November 18th deadline. This is a great deal for players who don't already own the game, as they get the base game (short campaign plus multiplayer) and one of the smaller expansions. Activision are hoping that players will become hooked and buy the most recent expansion, Forsaken.

The only requirements are that you have a Battle.net account, and that you opt in for their SMS two-factor auth mechanism.

If you fancy a copy for BobLAN, head over to Blizzard to claim the "free gift". The game takes up 80GB, and allow yourself half an hour for account creation and Battle.net application installation.

The developers of Fallout 76 have made allowances in the game for those who want to play it alone, rather than the intended team play. Killing another player who is minding their own business results in you becoming "wanted" and that makes you a target.

Bethesda's multiplayer game set in the Fallout universe goes into beta later this month. The Xbox version of Fallout 76 will be available on Tuesday 23rd October, with the PC version following a week later on 30th October.

The dates for the autumn BobLAN of 2018 have been agreed. We will be starting after lunch on Thursday 15th November, and wrapping up on Sunday 18th. 100 days to get your kit upgraded, games bought etc :)